Of Clouds and Leaves
by Deta Henkan
Summary: AU. After shinobi from Kumo concluded they wouldn't be able to kidnap a Hyuuga, they head back. Complications arose and Naruto ends up in Kumo. Will he learn of his origins? What changes will occur?
1. Journey to Kumo

Disclaimer: I own nothing except OCs. Can I cry?

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"Baka! What are you doing looking at these babies!" a shinobi whispered harshly. "We're supposed to get the Hyuuga mother!"

"She's dead," the other replied. "How about we steal the Hyuuga's baby?"

"Are you crazy?!" came the instant remark. "There are ANBU guarding all the babies that come from clans!"

"Then the mission's a no-go," the other said.

"Then let's get out of here!" the first whispered.

The guy was ready to leave when he noticed his companion hadn't moved.

"Come on!" the shinobi urged.

"I want a baby," the kunoichi said.

"Fine, we'll work on it when we get back," the guy said.

"You know I can't conceive a child," the woman whispered harshly.

"Well, we can't steal one in an ANBU-watched building," the other argued. "And it's not like some random Leaf nin will be carrying a child around."

Suddenly a door closed near them.

"Freakin' ANBU..." a Leaf nin said, holding a sleeping blond baby. "I think I lost them... You'd think stealing a baby for ransom money would be easier than this..."

The two ninjas shared a look before silently approaching the ninja who was looking out the window to see if any ANBU were outside. A hand grabbed him over the mouth before electricity coursed through his body and he went limp. The two nins then took the baby and left.

"It's no Hyuuga baby, but Kumogakure will be happy," the guy said.

"Kumogakure?" the kunoichi blinked. "Forget that! I have a child now!"

"We probably should have found out why this damn child was so important..." the male ninja muttered.

"Shut up and keep moving!" the kunoichi yelled. "I'm not letting those Leaf bastards take away my baby!"

"... Protective much?" the guy asked.

With that, the two ran on, trying to shake off the hunter nin that were now pursuing them.

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Deep inside a cavern, a fire was lit with three figures near it.

"No fair," the guy pouted. "You never let me drink your milk."

"Well, he needs my milk," the kunoichi glared at her partner. "A mother has to care for her baby and this baby can't eat solid foods yet."

"Lucky son of a..." the guy began before a kunai landed too close for comfort in-between his legs.

"Watch your language," the kunoichi warned.

"When he's done, how about we spend some quality time?" the guy offered with a grin.

"I'll have to take a rain check," the girl said. "We have a baby now."

"But he's too young to be able to remember anything..." the guy whined.

"I said I'll take a rain check..." the woman glared.

The guy then settled for glaring at the blond kid who was sucking away.

'I am not jealous of a little brat...' began the man's chant. 'I am not jealous of a little brat...'

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The two had passed into Lightning Country a few days ago and were almost at Kumogakure when three shinobi from Leaf had finally caught them.

"We of ROOT are here for the child," one of them said.

"Finally!" the guy yelled. "Take him! Freakin' brat's been driving me crazy!"

"What?! No!" the kunoichi yelled. "You're not taking my baby!"

"Hand over the jinchuuriki," the ROOT member spoke again.

"Hear that? A jinchuuriki," the guy said. "Get rid of it."

"I'm not handing over my baby," the kunoichi repeated firmly.

"It's four-against-one," the woman's ex-partner stated.

"Then I'll beat every last one of you..." the woman growled.

Unfortunately, fighting with a baby hindered her capabilities and she fell.

"Here's your brat," the guy said, shoving the baby into a ROOT members arms. "I'll take my leave."

The ROOT member nodded and the man only made it a few steps before the other two killed him, one slicing his head off and the other separating his body at the waist with their swords. The ROOT member was about to walk away when a hand grabbed his leg. He looked to see the woman was still alive with a look of rage on her face. Electricity ran through his body as the ROOT member crumpled to the ground. One of the ROOT members then stabbed her through the back and pierced through her heart, twisted his blade, and pulled out, killing the woman. The third ROOT member then used a fire jutsu to burn away the bodies after the second ROOT member gathered the two heads.

"ROOT member reporting to Danzo," the ROOT member began, speaking into a microphone in his mask. "Targets one and two: Down. Target three: Acquired."

"Bring it in," Danzo ordered. "Leaf's weapon must remain in Konoha."

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Unfortunately for the three ROOT members, the smoke caught the sight of a certain team of ninjas. When the three were caught in a low-flying cloud, they were killed. When the cloud passed, three ninjas with a cloud symbol took the blond child with them to their village.

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Yes, this is an alternative to my Of Rocks and Leaves. I was also wondering what would happen with Kumo. I may also make one for Kiri and Suna, although Suna is less likely as there is already a small number of them. This is all I have pre-written, as I need to figure out appropriate changes for Kumo so it doesn't just end up another version of Iwa as well as make up a lot of OCs. I haven't figured out yet if and how I should involve Yugito. 


	2. Kumo's Assesment

Disclaimer: I own nothing except OCs. Can I cry?

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"Raikage-sama?" a ninja asked. 

"Do you mind telling me how our monument has been defiled with graffiti by a mere child?!" Kumo's leader demanded.

"Well, you see, Raikage-sama..." the ninja began nervously, hesitantly.

"Send out for a D-rank mission," the Raikage interrupted harshly. "The capture of Uzumaki Naruto."

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"Remember Uzumaki Naruto! The next Raikage!" Naruto yelled at a small group of Genin, who merely groaned as the hyperactive blond took off again.

"Why the heck... haven't they... passed him... already?!" one Genin panted.

"His only good thing must be stealth..." the second one offered.

"We wouldn't have to do this stupid mission if they would just pass him already!" the third teammate yelled.

"True, but then you would learn nothing," a Jounin spoke before approaching his team. "So, should we just give up and label this mission failed or are you going to catch the target?"

"Yes, sensei..." the three grumbled before going to see if they could find the blond again.

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"Hehehe... They'd never look for me here," Naruto grinned.

"True, but this is my tower and I was the one who assigned the mission," a voice said behind Naruto, making him nervous as he slowly turned around.

"Ah... Haha... Raikage-sama..." Naruto began as the Raikage's shadow fell on him.

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"How long did you get the electric chair _this_ time?" a Chuunin instructor sighed as she noticed an upset Genin team bring in the still-twitching blond.

"G-gomen, Shiori-sensei..." the currently-subdued Academy student said.

"Why is it your capture is one of the most common D-rank missions?" Shiori asked as the miffed Genin left.

"Hey! I'm practicing stealth!" Naruto shot back, the unexplained quick recovery finally kicking in. At this, Shiori grinned.

"Well, your stealth training won't help you review the Bunshin no Jutsu!" Shiori yelled, pointing dramatically at the blond.

"N-nani?!" Naruto yelped. 'Th-that's my worst jutsu!' Naruto mentally gasped as a cold sweat began running down his head. 'She knows!'

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"Raikage-sama, I don't think we can do that..." Kumo's leader's assistant began. "It would violate the agreement we made with Leaf concerning the Hyuuga incident we had.

The village leader growled at this. "They had some nerve... Asking something of us after they killed one of our shinobi, though one acting out of line, and giving us a Hyuuga corpse that doesn't possess the Byakugan..."

A knock sounded at the door, to which the Raikage nodded to his assistant to answer. "Ah, Shiori-san. Good to see you," Kumo's leader began. "I take it things are going well?"

"Yes, it is, Raikage-sama," Shiori bowed. "I just wished to address something concerning my students..."

"I told you, no minors. They're not legal adults until they're Genin and even then there are a bunch of procedures before you can do anything," the leader sighed.

"... Nani?" Shiori asked, completely lost.

"Huh?" the Raikage asked. 'Shoot! Wrong person!'

"I was talking about the candidates for becoming Genin..." Shiori said. "You want to talk about something?"

"No, no... Don't worry about it," the Raikage said quickly. "Now, what's the problem?"

"It's Naruto, should he pass the Genin Exams," Shiori began. "I'm having difficulty finding a team that would suit him, due to how much of a wildcard he is."

"Then worry about it after the exams," came the reply. "However, I have a feeling its more than that... After all, this is the first time you've addressed a single student instead of the class as a whole."

"... Do you think he'll be able to pass?" Shiori finally asked. "This will be his third try..."

"Truthfully, no," the Raikage said. "Not without some sort of miracle. He may be good in stealth, but he's lacking in other areas. Control is a main focus. Many people believe that Kumogakure doesn't believe in control, comparing us to lightning that often strikes randomly, but any good shinobi of Kumogakure should be able to tell you that control is something we work vigorously to improve.

"Voltage is hard to maintain, thus why many raiton jutsus are assassination techniques. If we failed to control how much electrical output is used, many problems would result. Naruto does not possess the necessary control. He doesn't understand the flow of electricity, either despite his constant meetings with it. Quick, precise, deadly... He is none of these, so his chances of passing are slim enough for me to not want to even considering bother with."

"I see..." Shiori said, having absorbed all that information. The Chuunin then stood up and bowed. "Arigato, Raikage-sama. I'd like the list of medic Genin tomorrow."

The Raikage began to sweat as he looked around on his desk. 'Where did those papers go? Weren't they just...? I had them right here!'

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"I wonder how long it will be before this isn't funny anymore..." Shiori said as she held up the list of graduating medic Genin in her hand.

* * *

How's that for being different? The electric chair may be a bit much, but this is Kumo. It needs a punishment factor fit for it as well as a way to help make competent shinobi. Unfortunately, Naruto has yet to realize the slight learning curve the electric chair brings. 

My theory on raiton jutsu, thought up recently, brings up a reason as to why they don't seem to be seen so much. I haven't actually seen any lighting-related techniques save for Chidori, so I'm working from pretty much nothing. However, control is a major point I thought would work well. With Naruto's abysmal control, he'll be forced to learn how to do just that in order to not accidentally kill or in some way incapacitate his targets. This may be important later.

The Raikage seems to not want to put too much effort in one lowly Academy student (that he does not know is a jinchuuriki). However, it seems Shiori wants to help. Will she be able to and, if she does, how will she do it? Will the Raikage realize that Shiori already took the list of graduating medic Genin? Also, what is it that Kumo had to trade for the deceased Hyuuga?


End file.
